Money & God?

When Walter Cronkite voiced opposition to the War in Vietnam, then President Lydon B. Johnson commented I’ve lost the American people. He knew that Cronkite represented Middle America and its values. The National Organization for Marriage, (N.O.M.) an organization that is a surrogate of the Mormon Church, spent $86,080.00 to support a candidate who would advance their agenda in Iowa. Despite funneling cash into the campaign to stack the deck on Election Day, they lost. The fact that N.O.M. lost in conservative Middle America harkens back to LBJ’s comment about a tipping point in America.

It is time for Americans to ask why tax-exempt religious organizations are spending large amounts of money to influence civil elections. Was not the purpose of tax exemption intended so that charitable institutions could perform acts of charity? You know, build hospitals, schools, colleges, feed the hungry, house the homeless, and help those who suffer from addictions, comfort the dying and build/maintain houses of worship?

Perhaps the time has come to specifically define what contributions qualify for tax exemption. Perhaps it is time to conduct audits of how religious organizations use contributed funds. Should donated funds, which are invested in the Stock Market, be taxed? Should donated funds, which are used to purchase income properties, be taxed? Should donated funds, which are used to fund political candidates, be taxed? I suspect that most Americans would say, yes.

This is not an “attack” on religion; but rather, it is liberation for religious institutions to engage in true charity. Ostensibly, this is the real “business” of religion. Leave the politics to the American electorate.